For Future Reference

A MySpace for academics? No, it's not your imagination; it's Emerald InTouch, a new hosting service for the academic and business community. Think of social networking for the professional masses, all safeguarded in a secure online environment. In addition to blogs and personal knowledge profiles, users can create open or closed online communities based on interest, search and collaborate with peers, and participate in online group discussions. Member and community rosters are available for perusing, and anything in your profile can be set to private, public, or logged-in-user viewing. Emerald InTouch has all the usual suspects of an online community with multimedia files, wiki pages, self descriptors, and photo uploading, but it can also link directly into the Emerald Management Xtra database, so users can do in-depth research as they blog. Not a computer geek? Not to worry. One clueless library product reviewer (who shall remain nameless) created her own Emerald InTouch profile in under four minutes.

Greenwood's exciting new database, Daily Life America (DLA), focuses on the day-to-day lives of average Americans, past and present. With text from more than 100 Greenwood titles (including several multivolume sets), more than 1000 graphics, and thousands of annotated primary-source documents, DLA offers advanced searching, advanced browsing, and even a comprehensive "State-by-State Resource Center" offering key state and regional data. DLA is available as a standalone or as part of the Daily Life Online suite of products.

Gale has a new web site just for informing you of new and upcoming print titles, the "What's New Web Site." The URL is a bit lengthy but definitely worth a bookmark—just Google "new products from gale," in quotes, and add that baby to your list.

Wilson recently announced a new online database, Current Issues in Health. With over 60 topics and growing (80 expected by January), this resource focuses on providing the most up-to-date health information to school, academic, and public library patrons. The far-reaching topics range from the expected (e.g., diabetes, depression, HIV-AIDS) to the unexpected (e.g., body image, midwifery, uninsured Americans). Each topic averages 30 full-text articles handpicked by Wilson editors from both popular and scholarly sources. Now available on WilsonWeb, Current Issues in Health is based in style and format on the successful Current Issues: Reference Shelf Plus, an existing Wilson electronic database and Library Journal 2006 Best Reference pick.